Celtic Knot Baby Quilt, part 2

Day 1: I traced my shapes on paper-backed fusible web and fused it to my fabric. I cut out all the shapes and removed the paper backing. I laid the shapes on my background and ran into my first problem.

I traced my shapes a bit larger with the thought of adding extra space between them, but it just doesn’t work out that way. What I see as black lines separating the shapes in my drawing translate into gaps between the shapes on my quilt.

3 by 6 knot

Days 2 and 3: I trimmed the excess from the edges of my shapes. I laid them out on my background with better success than the night before. I fused the shapes in place, trimmed the excess background fabric and encountered my second problem.

When my brother asked for a baby quilt on Thanksgiving, I had in mind a small piece, about 45 inches square. What I currently had was both narrower and longer than expected (32 inches wide by 64 inches long). The “baby” in question is an active three-year-old, so longer was probably better, but narrower was not.

I went ahead and stitched the shapes in place.

Days 4 and 5: I went to buy batting and flannel for backing. The smallest package of batting was crib-quilt size (45 inches wide and 60 inches long). I pieced the excess background fabric I had cut off earlier and added appropriate borders all around. The piece now measures 45 inches by 70 inches.

I already had a piece of batting large enough for the purpose. I’ll use the batting I bought at a later date.

I pieced the flannel for the backing; I layered the quilt sandwich; and, I safety-pinned everything together with a couple hundred of ’em (I’ve got the pin pricks to prove it).

Days 6 and 7: What else? I’ve been quilting.

I remove the safety pins in the area I’m about to quilt. I mark the top with the dull edge of a table knife run along the edge of my acrylic ruler to make a shiny crease. Then, I straight-pin the three layers together, across the marked line. I roll up the excess, take it to the sewing machine, and stitch.

My first two stitched lines form an “X” through the middle of the quilt. After that, I mark, pin, and stitch outward from the center, rotating the quilt ninety degrees for each new line.